Microsoft Office Web Apps go to testers: Ten things to know — Microsoft is making available to thousands of pre-selected testers on September 17 the first Community Technology Preview (CTP) test build of its Web-ified version of Office. — Microsoft officials first announced plans for Office Web Apps …

Palm Abandons Windows Mobile — Another one bites the dust. A few months ago, Motorola's consumer handset division said they were ditching Windows Mobile for an all-Android approach. In an earnings call today (transcribed by Business Insider), Palm CEO Jon Rubinstein said the makers …

Verizon Boss Hangs Up on Landline Phone Business — Roll over in your grave, Alexander Graham Bell. — That was in effect what Ivan Seidenberg, the chief executive of Verizon Communications — one of the largest descendents of the old Bell System — declared Thursday morning.

Music publishers: iTunes not paying fair share — Songwriters, composers, and music publishers are making preparations to one day collect performance fees from Apple and other e-tailers for not just traditional music downloads but for downloads of films and TV shows as well. They contain music after all.

So I Got A Call From An App Store Reviewer — The latest update to Flickup was rejected last week because of an admittedly semi-sketchy keyword (I had mentioned a competitor in my keywords). I fixed the keyword issue, and because of some confusion on my part surrounding the amendment process, I uploaded a new binary as well.

Log In with Your Facebook Username — A couple of months ago, we made it easier for people to find and connect with each other by using Facebook usernames. Beginning today, you also will be able to log in to your Facebook account with your username from any Web browser, mobile phone or Facebook Connect-enabled website.

Facebook Pages in Seesmic Desktop 0.6 — Facebook Pages — We're excited to share with you a new feature that will allow Seesmic Desktop to access and manage your Facebook Pages. In version 0.6, you now can view and manage any Facebook Page you follow.

State AGs on Google Books settlement: We object — Five state attorneys general have joined the opposition to Google's settlement with book authors and publishers, objecting to the way the settlement distributes unclaimed funds. — The attorneys general for Connecticut, Missouri …

Google CEO questions Murdoch's online pay plan — CAMBRIDGE, England (Reuters) - Publishers of general news would find it hard to charge for their content online because too much free content is available, the chief executive of Google Inc said on Thursday.

Dell's New Laptop — Dell thinks recession-weary companies are finally ready to upgrade their technology. It has a pricey laptop to entice them. — In Texas they do everything big, even obsolescence. Take the abandoned Dell desktop computer factory just a few miles from its Round Rock headquarters.

IE program manager endorses HTML 5 multimedia tags — On Wednesday, Google's Mark Pilgrim published episode 35 of This Week in HTML 5, a series of articles that he is writing at the WHATWG blog to document the progress of the Web standards effort. In this episode, he praises Microsoft's Adrian Bateman …

How The Joltid Suit Is a Ploy to Buy Back Skype — Table of Contents: — Bernstein Research's Jeffrey Lindsay says new litigation filed by Joltid against eBay, Skype and its pending investors stems from the Joltid owners' failure to buy back Skype from eBay.

Silicon Valley ‘seeing revival’ — Silicon Valley is stirring back to life, following a bruising economic downturn, according to industry insiders and start-up entrepreneurs. — The view seems to underscore Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke's belief that the US recession has ended.

Facebook lets users decide who has the Golan Heights — As Facebook ramps up its growth abroad, it will have to contend with more highly-charged political conflicts. One of them is how to manage disputed territories like the Golan Heights, a mountainous region connecting Israel to Syria that was captured by Israel in 1967.

HP Names Marc Andreessen to Board of Directors — HP today announced that Marc Andreessen, co-founder and general partner of Andreessen Horowitz and co-founder and chairman of Ning, has been elected to serve on the HP board of directors. — Andreessen will join the board immediately …

Don't Tweet On Me — Twitter shows that stupid stuff sells. — From the magazine issue dated Sep 28, 2009 — The comedian Dane Cook apparently believes he is building his brand by pumping out a steady stream of comments on Twitter, the microblogging site that lets you broadcast 140-character messages …

Facebook Eats Away at Email Usage on Today's Web — According to recent analysis by the Online Publishers Association (OPA), more people than ever are spending their time online visiting content sites which provide news, information, and entertainment. Despite the emergence of social networks …

Microsoft: Students to get Windows 7 for £30/$30 — Microsoft has taken the wraps off an amazing offer for UK and US students today. — From October 1, students in the UK with a valid email address (an email address given by the college or university, e.g. name@leeds.ac.uk) …